CHAMROEUN PHEARUM

I am one of six siblings. Fortunately, both of my parents are still alive. My dad works at the Ministry of Education and my mother is a stay-at-home mom. My two older brothers work: my eldest brother at Sokimex gas station and my second eldest brother in a garment factory in Kompong Speu province. My other three siblings are still in school.

My family is very poor. Growing up, my siblings and I never knew what it was like to have enough food to eat or to be able to have fun. We never had a warm and comfortable household. It was difficult for my parents to make ends meet or to pay for our schooling. My parents don’t have a plot of land to farm on. They’ve always borrowed money from others and from the bank. As a result, my family is in a lot of debt. We often relied on my grandmother for food. Fortunately, my family is doing much better, now that my two eldest brothers have found work and can help my parents out.

I’m the third oldest in my family, and I currently attend the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). I study information technology. Through my scholarship with Global Children Cambodia, I am able to study computer databases. In college, I take training courses on databases. I’m so thankful that GCC got me a laptop to use for my studies. It’s made my life so much easier. During my spare time, I watch tutorial videos related to computer databases so that I can practice and become more proficient. The tutorial videos are in English, so following them can be a bit difficult for me. But I still enjoy it. I hope to work in a large bank one day.